What a Journey

We're here, that is in Morocco. At last. It's been the usual story of The Beynon's adventures. We built up our departure with a new engine installation the week before we left and the journey to Morocco proved just as demanding! We arrived at Santander early on Tuesday morning, allowing us a full days drive through Spain. And what a drive it was, non stop to Algeciras in 13 hours!! The van flew as we shared the driving and ate on the hoof. We listened to Helen Griffin reading a story, 'All that Glitters', to pass the time, as the kilometres whizzed by. And by 9.30 pm we were parked outside the Lidl we always stop at before we leave for Morocco. 

All is well so far!

We slept like logs and woke to the sunshine of a beautiful Mediterranean morning. Keen to get our shopping done and off to Morocco. As I walked on front of the van to go to Lidl, I saw.........oil on the floor! We had a leak. Not too much but enough to send us into alert mode as we were about to leave Spain for Morocco. A quick diagnosis and a crack in the oil sump is found!!! We are in trouble and have to sort this out before moving on.

How has this happened? I checked oil levels etc at every opportunity I've had, new engine and all that. No signs of oil before we left the boat so a stone? perhaps? what else could have done it? The hair line crack is about 2 cms long and although it is only weeping oil, we have to fix it right away.

So as it happens, there is a Mercedes garage close by! Honest. I chat as best I can with whoever will talk to me and am told that they can't help with a repair, only replacing new parts. And they are too busy to do that this week as it's a public holiday on Friday! But, why don't you go and talk to Paco the mechanic two blocks away, perhaps he can help you. So that's what we do and Paco says he can help.

All I have to do is take off the sump and he'll fix it with a weld. Phew, a new challenge for me! so i ring Wolfie in Germany to check I'm up for it and he says "of course you are, the engine wants to get to know you better" !! He assures me it's an easy job but I must fit a new gasket before replacing the sump. 

So Krysia sets off to the Mercedes garage after having spoken to Gareth in Swansea Mercedes, armed with the part number that we need, just to be sure. Gareth has helped us out before while we've been abroad and is our main man in Swansea when it comes to getting parts for Vannie. He is lovely to Krysia on the phone and wishes he could send us the part as he has one in stock in Swansea! Not a problem because Mercedes here can get us the part by tomorrow morning. Fantastic. Well done Krysia.

While she was gone, I managed to get the sump off without breaking it further! Gave it to Paco and it was welded  toute suite. All we had to do was wait until Thursday morning for the gasket to arrive. Perhaps we could relax! We're working on that. We do have rather a lot of opportunities to practice patience in these situations. So we take time out to walk in the rather lovely surroundings of Polones, the area we are in overlooking Gibraltar.

This is definitely one of the most beautiful spots we have broken down in, right next to a wildlife reserve with birds aplenty gracing our adventure.
 

And here I am, a sight most of you in Holts Field will be used to now. Under the van. Doing what I obviously love to do, fix the van. Oil up to my armpits, thick in my hair and hot on my knees! This is a holiday after all!!! when do we ever get just a holiday, always a life's experience for us. 

So a couple more pictures will take us through to the repair, well almost! 

Two more fine views of me on holiday.

Wish you were here? I bet you don't, most people prefer to have a relaxing break. 

No time to harp on now, I've got a sump to refit and with torque wrench at hand, I fix her good and proper. Pour in fresh new oil and............. as Krysia inspects and asks what to expect, i reply with " if it's going to leak again, it'll be from the weld love" " It is " she says............. It is. 

We're quite used to disappointment Krysia and I! It is leaking from the weld and has to be removed and re welded!! A good test in being here now. I have to take it off and refit it with the same enthusiasm as the first time! So I do as there is no other choice. Get on with it Ted. 

And here's a quick look at what is above the sump after I have removed it for the second time. New gasket waiting patiently for it's bottom half. Big ends for all to see. This is a bare engine. Amazing.

So, another weld later and it's back on. No time to waste, we're off to Morocco and nothing is going to stop us. It's still Thursday and we're off. Ferry at 5 pm. Not too long at the border and we drive the 70 kms or so to Asilah. A pleasant seaside town with a campsite and a shower!! so needed, I'm filthy and I scrub myself clean before collapsing to bed alongside another weary warrior, my lovely Krysia.

We've made it. 

So now it's Friday evening and we've had a lovely day. We sorted out our internet for the trip and got our Moroccan phone up and running. We sat lazily around the campsite then I checked all the nuts and bolts I could find and did some investigations into other unknown problems yet to be. Well, it's sort of hard to wind down from all the excitement of the last few weeks.

We walked into town this evening and tasted real Morocco. Through back streets and Markets, coffee shops and Medina's, we reminded ourselves of why we come here. The people are so friendly, the contrast to home extraordinary and we are back in Morocco for the fifth consecutive year!! And we've only just arrived.